A. Held & P. Rüst (2000), Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith 52/3, 212-
Original web publication by the American Scientific Affiliation (but with defunct addresses):
Some assume that the biblical authors were bound to the science of their culture and time. But divine revelation implies the communication of contents at least some of which are unknown. Is God permitted to reveal some future or past history? In the Bible, theology and history are intimately connected.
A text understandable by the ancients need not imply the use of factual errors held in their culture. Therefore, it is meaningful to seek an interpretation compatible with known facts, even though it may have been interpreted differently by the ancients. God wants the texts to be trustworthy for all readers.
We discuss various Scripture texts misused by critics of God's freedom of choosing what to reveal. One egregious case concerns the astonishing claim that Mat.19:8 supports the idea of God accommodating himself to the defective morals of the time.
We also refute claims that the Bible contradicts science, such as Gen.1:2 supposedly asserting that the earth originally was covered with water; Ps.24:2 and Ps.136:6 that the earth is floating on the ocean; Gen.1:6 that the "firmament" (expanse) is solid; Gen.1:20 that birds came before land animals.
Belief in a spherical earth would not have been beyond the thinking of some ancients, especially those familiar with wide plains or the ocean. There is no reason to force biblical texts to support a flat earth mythology.
In contrast to genuine myths, Gen.1 correlates in an amazing way with the scientific picture.